Demagogue

OK, now I've fulfilled the lefty blogger's obligation of using those two abbreviations. But the next time some wingnut goes on about the liberal media, or the White House tries to deflect attention from things it's done wrong by blaming the press for having the temerity to report it, I'm going to remember this paragraph by the intelligent, conservative* British magazine The Economist:

This week saw the first signs that the administration is getting rattled. In tense press conferences on Monday and Tuesday, Scott McClellan, Mr Bush’s press secretary, faced a fusillade of hostile questions from the usually compliant press pool. He responded repeatedly that the administration would not comment on an ongoing investigation. This struck the journalists as particularly fishy, given that Mr McClellan had previously been happy to discuss the affair, categorically denying the involvement of Mr Rove and other advisers. Why the sudden silence?

*No, I don't think this is an oxymoron. I've subscribed to The Economist for years, although its politics are well to my right (except for its fairly libertarian stance on a lot of social issues). If we could replace right-wing crap factories like Fox News and the Douchebag of Liberty with The Economist, it would do a lot to elevate the level of discourse.